Emptiness
by sweet-dispositionn
Summary: She knew it all too well; what it meant to have a heart. UlquiHime


**A/N: **I'm glad that I recieved a great response for my _HitsuHina _fanficiton;I've decided to post one for Ulquiorra and Orihime. I see the relationship between Orihime and Ulquiorra as a classic fairytale; a emotionless beast (or Espada in his case) who has yet to understand the meaning of possessing a heart or even what a heart is meets a young woman who knows the meaning of having a heart all too well.

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An _UlquiHime _one-shot . . .

Emptiness

Bleach © _Tite Kubo_

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"_Maybe it's impossible to feel exactly the same way as another person, but it's possible for people to care about one another and to place their hearts as close together as they can manage. I'm sure that's what it means to make your hearts as one._"

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"A heart, you say?" He wanted to scoff at the mere word. A heart? Ulquiorra Cifer had eyes that could see everything. He could see the fear, worry, happiness, and all the other petty human emotions that the burnt haired woman demonstrated in front of him, but he could not see a heart, even if she demonstrated it through words. If he could not see it, then it did not exist. It did not mean anything and therefore it was not worth dawning any thought over.

He piercing cold eyes bore into the exact spot where the girl had placed her hand, the place where this so called "heart" resided.

He laid his gaze upon Maria Horan.

"Humans like you are quick to assume such things, as though you carry your hearts in the very palms of your hands." He lifted up his hand, his finger pointing towards his right eye.

"This eye of mine perceives all that is seen. There is no such thing that it cannot overlook. If it cannot see such a thing, then it does not exist. That assumption alone is what I always fought."

For a moment the two were shrouded in complete silence. What was she to say? The Arrancar before her was created for one purpose and that was only to serve. Other than that, he didn't need emotions. There no such thing as a heart and if there was, there would be nothing stopping the cold Espada from trying to find it; the core of all human emotion.

The thought floated throughout his mind and he reached out towards the young female's large chest.

"What is this "heart"?" He asked no curiosity in his voice. "If I tear open that chest of yours, will I see it there? If I smash open that skull of yours, will I see it there?"

Maria could see that his mind was peeked with curiosity. Someone like him, who oversaw everything, wouldn't there be something that he would have wanted to see? Something quite different from most things?

He somewhat desired something he could not see. Since he was not human, he had no need to heed them and their foolish attempts to make assumptions. The thought was not supplied to him. She stared at him, trying to make out the real intent behind those dark green eyes. Ones she once thought were filled with no intent were filled with curiosity and wonder.

_Showing even the slightest bit of interest is a start_, the busty girl thought to herself. Everyone had a heart.

She said that her heart was connected to her friends. Ulquiorra shook the thought off his mind. The only thing that lied inside that human girl was nothing but her internal organs, nothing special. Behind that skull of hers lied a brain that contain her thoughts, but behind that was a vast plain of emptiness.

As her friends can to save her, she gave off aura of joy.

Could this be a heart? The connection between two mere humans . . .

She denied the death of her friends. She believed in them. The human girl gathered up the hope she had kept hidden.

Foolish . . . Why did she deny the slightest idea that her friends could not save her? He took that back. Then again the girl denied reality itself. She had the power to reject, so could it have been her power rejecting the defeat of her friends keeping them alive?

And he _**couldn't**_ see that.

Did it make him angry? Was he angry that she had something that he could not see? Did it even matter to him? Then the human girl had come again to the aid of her now dead friend, a hole placed in his chest.

Could she have felt the emptiness that resided with in that hollow hole?

"It's useless," he said, blocking the way from her saving the boy. "Even if you get to him, your power is not enough to keep him alive."

_No matter what you can do, it's impossible._

Her effortless cries annoyed him. He was dead. There was nothing she could do. Her power did nothing. Her hope had disappeared and now she was crying over the dead body of the one whom she shared this "heart" with.

_You did not manage to keep your "hearts" close, therefore your hearts was not as one,_ he thought, _No, there was never a heart to begin with, just an empty space. _If it was there, this "heart" wouldn't she have perished along with the trash?

She didn't listen and so her friend had paid for it. Now they will die here in loneliness as did he. Could it have been a heart that connected the two? Why did they protect? What was there to protect when there was nothing left?

That's right; there was some sort of boundary between the end of things. There was no complete emptiness and somehow that human girl knew that. _What is it? What's holding them back? _He just wanted to die. He couldn't see it, so there was no point in living. He knew there was no power behind her actions, only sheer influence.

Ulquiorra watch the girl cry of the name of her companion, the one she trusted this boundary with. He tried to see it, he tried to find it. But there was nothing.

When he was a hollow, there was nothing but loneliness in his world. He saw himself as white while those around him were black. He lamented his existence while he wondered the world alone. There was only one thing that kept his interest that was a white tree with sharp pines. He found himself taking interest in the tree. It was like him which made him feel less lonely. He sank into it, finally at peace.

To think about that now, he was taking interest in that girl. She was just like the tree and he found himself sinking into her.

As he died, the thought dwelled in his mind. Was he going to be at peace as he sank away and even more important; why was he feeling this way? He didn't know, but it felt like a boundary was there.

_"Are you afraid?" he asked, "It's over. You are going to die here, alone, with no contact with anyone."_

_"I'm asking if you are afraid." She didn't look at him with fear or content, but hope. "I'm not afraid." She amazed him. "Everyone came to rescue me, so my heart lies with theirs."_

_"Such nonsense. Just because your friends came to save you, you are not afraid? Do you really mean those words?"_

_"Yes." His white world brightened a bit. _

It was this boundary that caused him to question himself. He reached his hand out to Maria as if he was placing a hand on her chest. She returned his gaze; her eyes had no fear in them.

What was he feeling? _What is this "heart"? If I ripped opened that chest of yours, would I see it? If I smash opened that skull of yours, will I see it? _As he held his hand out to hers, he felt the boundary. Was he feeling the connection he made with this girl? The one who he merely saw as trash in the beginning?

Even if it had been for a short while, he made a connection with her. It was the closest thing to human emotions. No, she was the closest thing to a heart. He wanted to know if she had felt the same, that the boundary he felt was the connection.

"Are you afraid, girl?"

"I'm not afraid." He watched her eyes water at those words. "I'm not afraid."

"I see." He pulled his hand away from her, but she then reach out for him.

At that moment, it seemed as though they both felt the connection. To him, he saw her cry out for the boy. That was more than enough to see that they had a connection. And now she cried for him. It was clear now that this mere connection they shared was not a boundary. _I see now__ in this palm . . . is a "heart."_

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**A/N: **I teared up a bit while writing this. No, I cried! It seems that I caught Ulquiorra's point of view more than Orihime, but we could tell that she felt his heart. I felt as though she felt their hearts at the end just like how she relied on Ichigo to the end. Aww, that's sad.

I didn't want him to think it was a heart, more of like a boundary, then a connection. Then he would feel a heart. I think Ulquiorra didn't want to be lonely. I don't know if they talked about this in the anime, but in the manga that whole tree thing was true. I kind of balanced the peace he felt with the tree with Orihime.

Sad one-shot . . . D; Hope you enjoy. Review ^^ ;3 To get in the mood listen to the Bleach OST's "Torn Apart", "Here to Stay, " and the one that play during Ulquiorra's death


End file.
